4 Ways to Hold On to Your Dreams Even When It Looks Impossible

Last week I wanted Mexican food. I knew exactly what I would order…the chimichanga with rice and beans from Fernando’s Restaurant. But to my dismay, it just never worked out…it was too late and Fernandos was closing soon.

I knew I would still have Mexican food…eventually. But just not that night.

3 days later…I got an email from a man in the local Lion’s Club. (random, I know.) He congratulated me on behalf of our daughter winning their recent Poster Contest. And then he got to the most exciting part 😉 …

He said, “The Blair Lions club would like to recognize Madaline, and the two of you, at an upcoming Lions Club dinner set for Monday, Dec.18, at Fernando’s Restaurant.”

Boom.

I wanted Mexican food. I wanted Fernando’s Mexican food. And now it’s happening.

. . .

Jon and I wanted to live next door to Disney World.

We dreamed of leisurely exploring the parks day after day with our family. Riding Splash Mountain in the morning and picking the kids up from school in the afternoon. Spending date night at Epcot and eating Mickey waffles with our kiddos on Saturday morning.

The dream was there.

We prayed extensively and asked God if it was okay. …I’m mean, come on, our only reason for moving there was entirely because we wanted to so it was important for us to know God was on board. Our answer was a clear and concise… “Yes! Go! Enjoy. Have fun.”

We moved forward acting in faith each step of the way.

However, as soon as we arrived in Florida our dream looked as if it was over before it ever began. Our businesses took an unexpected turn for the worse and we were left without hardly any funds for several months.

But…even though all signs pointed to failure and everything on the outside screamed “no!”, we never gave up. We knew our dream of having Disney Annual passes was going to happen. Somehow.

During our financial turmoil we were staying in hotels. (Some were fantastic and some we didn’t want to take our shoes off.) That summer the new 7 Dwarfs Mine Train Roller Coaster debuted at the Magic Kingdom so almost everyone hotel was promoting it.

At one particular hotel our keycard was a picture of the 7 Dwarfs Mine Train. As I held that keycard in my hand I thought, “This almost looks like it could be a Disney annual pass!”

So from that time on, I saved that keycard in my wallet telling myself that it was my Disney pass.

Every time I opened my wallet and saw it I would think to myself, “I’m so grateful I have this pass! We are able to have so much fun and make so many memories with this pass!”

Our financial situation started looking up…very slowly. By miracles, we got into an incredible apartment and through even more miracles we were able to furnish it.

We were still far from having the ability to purchase passes but we never gave up on it. We KNEW it was going to happen.

Finally, through many more miracles and planning, 4 months later we walked up to the ticket counter and bought 4 Disney World annual passes. (Lily was young enough that she didn’t need one yet.)

The first moment after we purchased our passes!

I will NEVER forget that day. That moment.

I walked away with complete gratitude in my heart and tears streaming down my face.

I knew it would happen. I didn’t know exactly when. But it truly did happen…just as I imagined it would.

. . .

Jon and I now have another dream in our hearts.

We have a dream of owning a home in Colorado. A beautiful home that will be a source of peace, comfort, and security for our family. A home where we can watch our kiddos grow up, make memories, and thrive as a family.

We know where we want it to be built and what we want it to look like. We can picture ourselves there.

So this time, instead of carrying around a 7 Dwarfs Mine Train keycard, I’m carrying around a house key.

Every time I see it I think, “I’m so grateful to own this home! It brings us so much joy to live here!”

You better believe…when we actually turn the real key, opening the door to our new home, my heart is going to be bursting with gratitude and I’ll have tears streaming down my face.

I’ve said this many times…God wants us to have what we want. He truly does.

Occasionally what we want may not be in our best interest but that just means God has something better in store.

He knows us perfectly.

He knows our dreams, our situations, and He’s cheering us on to believe. To have faith. To keep going.

Disney World was a gift to me in so many ways. One of the ways was that it showed me to believe in the crazy dreams, believe in myself, and most importantly believe that God is willing to make those dreams a reality.

So as I eat my chimichanga at Fernanodos this Monday, I’m going to take it as a little reminder to keep dreaming and keep believing.

Because eventually those dreams become reality.

. . .

4 Ways to Hold On to Your Dreams Even When It Looks Impossible

1| Talk with God and determine if he’s on board with your dream.

This is a big one for me. Once I know that God has given me his stamp of approval, I can totally weather the rough patches. I know I’m being supported which helps me feel empowered to keep going and keep striving.

If you’re not used to speaking to God through prayer and most importantly, receiving answers, it can feel ambiguous. I understand. I’ve always been someone who has prayed and talked to God, but not until several years ago have I really felt Him talking to me.

As I look back I can see that He was actually always talking to me. I just didn’t always recognize it. I didn’t trust myself that he was truly communicating with me.

So that’s my advice, trust yourself. As you pray and ask questions, stop, be still and expect an answer.

Answers are received a little differently by everyone but for the most part they come as a thought in your mind. A little spark of enlightenment.

Often times we brush it off thinking it’s just our own thinking.

But as I’ve trusted the thoughts that come to me, knowing they are truly from God, I’ve found that I’m able to “hear” more easily and the answers will continue to come.

Action Step:
Write out your dreams on paper. Write it all out in detail. Find a quiet spot where you won’t be disturbed. (I pray in my car all the time!) Take several breaths and begin your prayer by thanking God for everything you already have. Truly feel gratitude and tell him how grateful you are for all he has given you.

Then talk to God about your dream. Share everything about it. Every detail. Why you want it, how it will change your life, who will be blessed by it. Everything. And then ask him if this is okay. Ask him if he approves of your goal.

And then be still. Be quiet and allow your mind to hear the answer. Don’t rush it.

Sometime answers don’t come immediately. God may answer you through a scripture you read or through a word of advice from your spouse. But know this, God hears you. And as you have faith that your prayer will be answered, you will see miracles begin to unfold.

There’s a story told by Napoleon Hill in his book, Think and Grow Rich, that has always been a great reminder to me to never give up…especially when I’ve been working toward something for a long time.

It reminds me to stay the course because soon enough, I am going to win.

He said,

“Darby’s uncle had gold fever, so he staked his claim and started digging. After a lot of hard work, the uncle found a vein of ore, so he covered up his find and returned home to raise the money for the machinery that he would need to bring the ore to the surface. They raised the money and Darby travelled with his uncle back to the site to make their fortune.

Things started well and before long, they had enough to clear their debts. They were excited, everything from here on would be profit and things were looking good.

Then the supply of gold stopped. The vein of ore had disappeared.

They kept on digging, but found nothing.

After a while, they quit in frustration and sold their machinery to a junk man for a few hundred dollars.

After they went home in disappointment, the astute junk man called in a mining engineer who checked the mine and calculated that there was a vein of gold just three feet from where Darby and his uncle had stopped digging.

The junk man went on to make millions from the mine.

Darby returned home, paid back everyone who had lent him money and was determined to learn from his mistake in giving up too soon.

He went on to become a phenomenally successful insurance salesman, more than recouping what he would have made from the gold mine.

He learned the lesson that you need to persevere through difficulties and stay focused if you are to become successful.

Whenever you feel like giving up on your dream, remember that you may be just three feet from gold!”

You never know just how close you are to your finish line. It may feel like you’ve been working for so long, working and never seeing results, but that doesn’t mean you should stop.

Keep going!

It’s said that it’s always darkest right before the dawn. So if you’re experiencing doubt or you feel like everything is working against you, take that as a sign that you’re so close to the finish line.

Hold on.

3- Picture yourself without the dream.

Say out loud, I’m okay with this not happening.” See yourself 6 months in the future as if nothing has changed. You are in the exact place that you are now.

How do you feel?

Does it make you feel lousy? Frustrated? Sad?

Now picture yourself one year in the future as having completed your goals. Everything has transpired that you set out to do. It all happened!

You really did it.

How does that make you feel? Excited? Motivated?

Use that to propel you forward. Remind yourself that time is going to pass whether you work toward your goals or not, so you might as well put forth the effort and accomplish your dreams!

4| Allow yourself to breathe.

When I’m super focused on a goal I usually find that I keep myself on a pretty strict schedule. I have a list of things that I need to accomplish each day in order to progress toward the goal.

Which is great.

Until it isn’t.

If I’m too caught up in the doing, doing, doing I can lose sight of my why and then it’s no longer fun. My dreams become a chore. And that’s not helpful to anyone.

I get burned out.

So I have to remind myself to take a breather. Relax. Regroup.

Remind myself to have some faith and know that God is also working on my dreams so it’s okay to let go and trust.

Action Step:
On a sheet of paper, draw a line down the middle dividing it into 2 columns. Title the left column, “Things I Can Do” and title the right column, “Things God Can Do”.

On the left start listing all the things that you have in your power to accomplish. For example, for me as I work toward growing my blog to be profitable, I can write:

-Write 2 new blog posts every week.
-Contact 3 people each week asking to be a part of their Pinterest Group Board.
-Sign-up with 3 media sites to promote the blog.
-Pray and mediate daily.
-Listen to an inspiring talk daily.

Now, on the right column list all the things that God can do to help you accomplish your dream:

-Send people to my blog who need to read my posts.
-Inspire media outlets to find my blog and share it.
-Inspire me to write content that I love and that will help others.
-Open doors to outlets that will help promote my blog.

As you relax and let go of holding the reigns so tightly, you will find that things will start unfolding in the perfect way. … without nearly as much stress and grief on your part.

Welcome to Being Katie Brave! I’m so happy to have you here. If you’re looking to take better pictures (stress-free!), get the inside scoop on all things Disney World, or be inspired to live YOUR best life (even if especially if it scares you to death) …you’re in the right place. I ’ve written 3 photography books, our family lived at Disney World for 2 years, and wear my heart on my sleeve…all of which would never have come to pass if I didn’t push past my fears and step in the darkness. Join me as I share my adventure of life, one post at a time.

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Welcome to Being Katie Brave! I’m so happy to have you here. If you’re looking to take better pictures (stress-free!), get the inside scoop on all things Disney World, or be inspired to live YOUR best life (especially if it scares you to death) …you’re in the right place. I’ve written 3 photography books, our family lived at Disney World for 2 years, and I wear my heart on my sleeve…all of which never would've come to pass if I didn’t push past my fears and step in the darkness. Join me as I share my adventure of life, one post at a time.